Introduction

‘Ecotourism’ is a fairly new concept, which has slowly evolved over the past few decades and generally encompasses that form of tourism whose primary attractions are one or more elements of the natural environment. Yet despite the phenomenal increase in the use of this term by academics, government, industry, host communities and even tourists themselves, there is still much debate concerning a consistent definition. There is however, a comprehensive list of guiding principles for the development of ecotourism and based upon these principles, it is thus evident that this form of tourism places a much greater emphasis upon conservation, education and ethics, compared with mass tourism.

Operation Wallacea is an ecotourist operator working in the region of southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. At present there are three regions at the centre of their interest and these include Buton, Hoga and Kabaena. Southeast Sulawesi is currently one of the least studied areas in terms of biodiversity, thus Operation Wallacea aspires to attract research tourists to assist in the collection of primary field data for conservation projects, whilst at the same time, causing minimal disturbance to the natural environment. Current forms of communication are so poor in southeast Sulawesi that it will be almost impossible for this particular region to be subjected to the detrimental effects of mass tourism. Consequently visitors are regarded as an abnormal minority of the tourist population because they are prepared to travel to such a remote area, purely for research purposes.

Since the conservation projects began, Operation Wallacea has been attracting approximately 200-250 volunteers every year, although there are variations in the number of people visiting each of the three destinations. In this period of time though, there has been little research into the demographic and motivational characteristics of the volunteers who are helping to maintain the continual running of the conservation projects. Previous studies in alternative ecotourist regions have included volunteers on an Earthwatch expedition, which subsequently concluded that participants were "extreme", wanting not only to be environmentally responsible but to enhance the environment as well. Analysis of these Earthwatch participants revealed a very specific segment of the tourism market, but raised the question of the demographics and motivations of other ecotourists. The lack of recognition and attention paid to ecotourists until recently, has meant that they have ultimately been viewed as different from mainstream tourists, but not from each other. Thus a questionnaire was devised for the Operation Wallacea volunteers, with the main objective of establishing whether or not there are any similarities in demographics, motivations for travelling and finally in their attitudes towards the environment. Any conclusions will be compared with the Earthwatch results and further studies of similar content.

Methodology

A total of 150 volunteers were personally interviewed, staying at Labundobundo and Hoga between July 1^st and August 24^th 2001. Of the possible 200+ volunteers, many were inaccessible due to different periods of stay in comparison to the interview duration time. The questionnaire contained a combination of open and closed ended questions, covering a variety of aspects relating to demographics, motivations, environmental attitudes, ecotourism and Operation Wallacea itself.

Determining the demographic characteristics was fairly straightforward and simply involved asking a series of questions, largely concerning education. However, establishing the motivational characteristics was not quite as simple because the survey firstly involved the respondent choosing their top three motives from a list of twenty-one, but then entailed them rating the importance of each of the travel motives using a 1-5 Likert scale. For the ‘ecotourism’ section, the participants had to similarly choose four statements from a list of fifteen, which they believed to best define the meaning of ecotourism, then using the Likert scale again to rate the importance of each of the statements for ecotourist destinations. Trying to establish the volunteer’s attitudes towards the environment once again involved the Likert scale, but together with a series of yes/no answers. This set of questions was designed to establish how ‘environmentally friendly’ the participants are by firstly seeing how committed they are to the environment and secondly, with the aid of the Likert scale, discovering how concerned they are by environmental issues which are currently considered to be of great significance.

Initial findings

The following data relates to the surveys carried out in Labundobundo in July, as the surveys on Hoga are due to be conducted in the first two weeks of August. Around sixty per cent of the respondents were female volunteers, 96% were British and mostly aged between 19 and 22. The volunteers were all well educated with an average of sixteen years schooling and currently attending university (97%), with the majority studying a science degree (84%). When having to describe what a typical holiday would involve for the volunteers, sight-seeing and visiting picturesque towns and villages proved to be most popular (26%), followed by outdoor-based activities (25%) and nature-based holidays (10%). However, owing to the average age of the volunteers, visiting bars and nightclubs also featured as a main activity (15%).

Respondents were asked to choose their top three motivations from a list of twenty-one and the three main reasons for opting to join Operation Wallacea were:

1. To experience something completely new
2. The experience gained from the trip will stand out on their CV benefiting future employment opportunities
3. Interested in researching for a Final Year Honours or Masters Level project

The top three motivations were closely followed by volunteers wanting to observe the diversity of animal species and take part in a rare opportunity. Of less importance were reasons such as visiting the nearby beaches, to holiday and experience the country’s good weather and to enjoy the relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. When using the Likert scale, each of the top motives scored 5 (very important) by almost half of the volunteers, except in the case of ‘researching for a Final Year Honours project’, because those volunteers who did not come out for this reason tended to score this motive as 1 (not important), thus reducing its average.

When asked to rate their concern regarding degradation of the natural environment, over 85% of volunteers ranked this as either a 4 or 5 on the Likert scale (very important), demonstrating a great sense of environmental awareness amongst the volunteers. This was also demonstrated by the fact that over ninety per cent of the volunteers had heard of the term ‘ecotourism’. When asked to nominate four factors that they believed to best define ecotourism, from a choice of fifteen statements, the top four most important factors for defining ecotourism were:

1. Controlled tourism with minimal disturbance to the natural settings
2. Experiencing nature with minimal disturbance to the environment
3. Projects are undertaken which benefit the local community
4. Economic benefit to the community

These top four answers were closely followed by the belief that education should be part of the experience and that volunteers should have to respect dress codes and other formalities. Factors of less significance included the consumption of local food instead of western imports and being entertained by the villagers and participating in local traditions.

When all the respondents have been interviewed at both of the sites, the results will be further analysed and compared with previous studies. If there is a stark contrast in motives for visiting Buton and Hoga, or a distinctive difference in attitudes towards the environment for instance, then a further comparison will be made between these two sets of Operation Wallacea volunteers. The ultimate aim of the questionnaire will be to try and establish clustering amongst the volunteers, which deciphers their motives and general attitudes towards the environment. Although exact groups have not been determined, clustering will probably range from academic motives to social motives.

Final report

The results of this project will be collated into a report entitled Demographic and motivational characteristics of Operation Wallacea volunteers at Buton and Hoga, southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia by Georgina Galley, University of Portsmouth. This will be completed by May 2002.

A paper entitled Attitudes and motivation of ecotourists - a case study of Operation Wallacea by Dr Julian Clifton and Georgina Galley, University of Portsmouth will be prepared by May 2002.